The Archaic
by capnnerefir
Summary: What's cooler than the scifi awesomeness of Animorphs? The scifi awesomeness of Animorphs with magic, sword fights, and all that cool medieval stuff. This is the war if it happened in an ancient world. Not a crossover; this is a world made just for them.
1. The First Bit

Okay, I'll be the first to admit it: this idea is completely, totally, 100% ripped off from another fic I read on this site. Said fic was called **The Mediveal **by** Moon-wolf2.** So if anyone reads this and thinks, "This sounds REALLY familiar", that's probably why.

That said, I was inspired to write this after reading a similar one. This story was burning a hole in my brain. I could not think of anything else until I started writing this. I just couldn't take it. So here, for your reading pleasure, is the story.

Basically, this is Animorphs. In a medieval-style world. That's about all you need to know; the rest of it should make enough sense soon.

And as always,

Enjoy or go go hell.

* * *

**THE ARCHAIC**

It was a very special day. The favorite day of the children of the kingdom. Of course, Prince Jake wasn't a child, so he wasn't very interested in it. But he had a duty, as Prince, to attend. This was the day that the traveling storyteller visited the kingdom and told tales to the children. The young royalty had to attend.

As usual, Jake's jester, Marco, followed him. Marco wasn't yet the official court jester, but he could well earn that title one day. His tale was a sad one, though. His father had been a brilliant inventor. But then, Marco's mother had drowned one night at sea. His father was never the same. Marco hid the pain behind jokes, but he also made jokes for the simple fact that he thought they were funny. He was probably the only one of that opinion.

Having him there made it a lot easier, since he made sarcastic comments during the entire telling. The stories themselves weren't bad, really. But Prince Jake had heard them all before, every single year. And he was required to be there at the beginning of the first story and not leave until the final one was told.

The local children were gathered around the fire. The storyteller, an old man calling himself Ellimist, stood before it, the flames casting odd shadows over him. It was late at night now. The time had come for his favorite tale.

**Jake**

"Children," Ellimist called, "it is time for a scary story. It is a great tale. An epic of bravery, sacrifice, and foolishness. A story of magic, betrayal, and war."

I saw my cousin, Princess Rachel, perk up at that. Rachel's father was my father's younger brother. As the younger brother, Daniel wouldn't inherit the throne, so he had went to make his fortune in a distant kingdom a thousand miles away.

I knew how Daniel must have felt. My older brother, Tomas, would inherit the throne, while I would be left with…well, not nothing, but considerably less than Tom. Not that Tom wouldn't be a good king, of course. He was brave, smart, handsome, and charismatic. He would be a good leader. He was a good fighter, too.

I also noticed Rachel's friend, Cassie. She and her parents were in charge of the royal animals. They also cared for those from around the countryside. I had a lot of respect for Cassie. And some other feeling as well…

"This is the story of the Andalites. The Andalites were once a peaceful people. Artists and farmers. Their kingdom was in the lands that surround this kingdom.

"The Andalites used to keep to themselves and they were happy. But then they began to explore the world and the surrounding lands. One day, one of their leaders, a great Prince named Seerow, came to a small village.

"In this village were the Yeerks. The Yeerks were small, weak people. They were very sickly. Seerow wanted to help them. So he taught them powerful magic so that they could explore the world.

"But the Yeerks fooled Seerow. They were a race of demons. They could possess other creatures and control them completely.

"With Seerow's magic, the Yeerks spread out throughout the forest. The Andalites fought them for generations. But the Yeerks grew more and more powerful. Eventually, they had enough power to challenge the Andalites directly.

"The Andalites fought long and hard but in the end, they were defeated. Their kingdom fell into ruin. Only a few scattered bands of Andalites still live. They do what little they can to hold back the Yeerks from peaceful unsuspecting kingdoms, but they cannot hope to succeed.

"Some say that the Andalites walk among us. They can change their bodies into any living creature. And the Yeerks can steal the minds of others. Yeerks and Andalites could be anywhere; anyone. They say that the two forces still fight, just beyond our vision."

Silence reigned. And then, Rachel said, "That's it? That's the story?"

"That is all."

"Why didn't anyone help the Andalites?"

"They were too proud to ask for help. And after what happened with the Yeerks, they did not trust anyone."

"But why—"

"Rachel," Marco cut her off, "it's just a story. Andalites and Yeerks aren't real."

Ellimist fixed him with an unnerving gaze. "Aren't they, Marco?"

Marco snorted. "Look, I know you make your living peddling these stories, but only an idiot would believe them. Is this your last story?"

"It is."

Marco turned to me. "Can we go now, Jake?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. It's pretty late anyway. Oh! If we don't hurry, the cooks will shut down for the night and I'm starving."

Marco looked horrified. "Well, we'd better hurry. I hate going to bed without dinner."

Rachel and Cassie decided to walk with us, since they were going back to the palace, too. "Well…" Rachel began.

Cassie gave her a look. "I don't like that tone."

"I was just going to say that we could get home a lot faster if we cut through the forest."

"Oh no," Marco protested. "People get killed in that forest!"

"Aww…little Marco too scared?" Rachel prodded.

Marco liked Rachel, so he'd never admit that he was, in fact, afraid of the forest. "Me? I'm not afraid of anything."

"Not even Chapman?" I asked. Chapman was the local schoolmaster.

"Okay, just him, though. Let's go, ladies."

"Marco?" Rachel began. "You _do_ know that I could have you beheaded, right?"

"Then you'd put my head on a pike so you could look at it all the time," Marco answered. "What concerns me is what you'd do with the rest of my body. You know, you could just ask."

Rachel hit him in the shoulder and we all laughed. That made me feel a little better as we crept through the forest. Then, I heard an odd sound. A hawk, screeching.

"A hawk? At night?" Cassie asked. "That isn't right. It might be hurt. Let's go look."

I was about to argue, but then she looked at me and I couldn't refuse. "Okay, let's go."

We ran through the woods and suddenly emerged into a clearing. There were two people there, both on the ground. There was a hawk perched on one's shoulder. "Come on, you have to try to get up."

We gathered around. The one with the hawk was a boy about our age. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and he wore all black. I'm pretty sure he had the classic 'tall, dark, and handsome' thing going on. I guessed the handsome part from the look Rachel gave him.

The other guy, the one on the ground, was a man about twice our age. Light armor and a few weapons were in a pile next to him. There was a deep gash in his side.

The man coughed. "I cannot. I…" Suddenly, his voice was in my head. ((I will die here.))

"No," the other guy insisted. "You can't. You're the last of the Andalites!"

_Andalites_? I shot Marco a questioning look.

((Not the last. There are others. They will come to help you but…it will take time. But that is time you do not have. The Yeerks have come.))

I could tell that the Andalite was talking to all of us now. Come closer, children. Do you know about the Yeerks?

"I thought they were a myth," Marco mumbled.

((They are all too real. And they have come to your kingdom. Because they know that you believe it is all a myth. They are taking your people even as we speak.))

"No. They can't!" Rachel insisted. "Someone has to stop them!"

The Andalite nodded. ((Someone must. But we Andalites are too few. And your people do not have the magic to fight the Yeerks. Maybe…yes, that is the only way. In my pack is a small, blue cube. Bring it to me.))

I looked at the other guy, the one with the hawk. He nodded to me. "Go. I'm not leaving him."

I nodded and rummaged through the man's pack. I saw the name embroidered on the pack. Elfangor Sirinial, Prince.

I found the cube and brought it to him. He nodded. ((Each of you, put a hand on the cube. I will give you some Andalite magic. It our most prized power. The power to change your form. The power to morph.))

We didn't seem to have a choice. At the time, I didn't even realize what we were agreeing to. I just knew that we had to help in any way we could.

I locked eyes with the hawk guy. He nodded to me. "No choice," he said. I nodded back. At the same time, we placed our hands on the cube. Rachel's hand joined ours almost instantly. Slowly, Marco and Cassie joined us as well.

I felt a tingle go through my body and then it stopped.(( You must go now. You can change your shape into any living thing. But there are limitations, at least until you are more powerful. For now, at least, you can only become a creature you have touched. And you cannot remain in one form for more than two hours. If you do, you might never change back.))

"Is that it?" the hawk guy asked.

((There is more, but we do not have the time. The Yeerks are on their way. Their Visser will come to claim my body. You must go now.))

"What's a Visser?" Marco asked.

((A powerful Yeerk warlord. I can feel him. This is Visser Three, one of their most powerful. He will be your greatest enemy. Only he of all the Yeerks has the power that you now possess. Visser Three can morph.))

"How is that possible?" Rachel asked.

((He has stolen the mind of an Andalite named Alloran Semitur. Go, now!))

"Wait!" the hawk guy said. "What is your name? Who are you?"

The Andalite managed to smile with only his eyes. ((My name is Elfangor Sirinial. Prince Elfangor. Now go. You must fight the Yeerks until the Andalites come. The fate of your kingdom rests on your shoulders now.))

We pulled back to hide in the woods. Just when Elfangor was almost out of sight, two people joined him. One was a tall, dark haired man who bore a bit of a resemblance to Elfangor. The other was…Chapman. I'd recognize him anywhere.

With them were…demons, I guess. They were conjured by Yeerk magic, I suppose. ((Hork-bajir,)) Elfangor said in my head. ((A sweet people until they Yeerks took control of them.))

I saw some new demons. ((Taxxons. They are…as bad as they the Hork-bajir were enslaved, the Taxxons submitted willingly. They are cannibals and gluttons. But tey are not strong. In a battle, they are no threat.))

((Ah, who is this that I see? So it is true. The great Prince Elfangor himself came to stop us. And he came alone, it appears. Incredible, isn't it, Chapman? I thought that Elfangor, at least, was above the arrogance of his people. It woudl seem that I was wrong. He thought he could stop us all by himself. Noble. And foolish. Then again, they are one and the same.))

((Visser Three,)) Elfangor rasped. ((This is not over yet. Others will come. More than you can hope to defeat. The Andalites will come to save this kingdom.))

The Visser smiled with just his eyes. I didnt' know it was possible to give a cruel smile like that. ((Yes, Prince Elfangor. They will come. And by then, it will be too late.))

Elfangor tried to rise to his feet. He picked up his chain/sickle (a weird Andalite weapon) from his pile of gear and tried to fight the Visser, but he was too weakened by his wound.  
The Visser laughed, and then he started to change. His flesh broke into scales and turned black. His eyes bulged out of his skull, huge, red orbs. Teeth the size of a sword filled his mouth. And then he started to grow. Even as he changed, morphed, Elfanogr struck at him with his chain/sickle. The Visser only continued to laugh. Within a minute, Elfangor stood alone before an enormous dragon. I didn't even believe in dragons until that.

((And now, Prince Elfangor, I bid you farewell.))

The Visser opened his mouth and expelled a torrent of flame. In less than five seconds, there was nothing left of Prince Elfangor Sirinial. That was when we ran. Rachel, Marco, Cassie, and I ran back to the palace

We slammed the gate behind us. Then, Marco turned to me, fear on his face. "Hey, what happened to that other guy? The one with the bird? I'm sure he knew who we were. The Yeerks want to keep themselves a secret, but if he tells them that we know…"

I nodded. "We'll have to find him. But I think we can trust him. I mean, he _was_ trying to help the Andalite after all."

"Yeah," Rachel agreed. "I'm sure he's trustworthy. We'll find him. And then we'll talk about what we have to do to stop these Yeerks from taking over our home."

**Rachel**

I was pretty scared when I woke up the next morning. I half thought that it was all a dream that crazy Ellimist gave me. It was possible. But something made me think it wasn't. I hoped it wasn't.

It isn't that I wanted to believe that the Yeerks, who weren't even supposed to be real, were attacking us. But I liked the thought that I'd actually get to do something. I mean, my father had taught me to use a sword and ride a horse and all the sorts of things that he learned to do as a boy. But once he was gone, my mother would never let me.

Sure, I often did it anyway. I'd sneak out with Cassie or Jake and we'd go riding or whatever. When Jake wanted to practice his swordwork, I'd practice with him, since Marco was pretty bad.

To be honest, I kind of liked the idea that I'd actually get to put those skills to use in real life. Sure, I wouldn't be of much use against one of those Hork-bajir demons, but I could split open a Taxxon, that's for sure.

As usual, I had breakfast in my room. That's a privilege you get when you're a Princess. Cassie brought me my food. That wasn't part of her usual duties, but we usually ate breakfast together, so this made it easier.

Her first words were, "Did you have a weird dream about Andalites and Yeerks?"

I shrugged. "It might have been a dream. That guy with the hawk was too cute to be real."

Cassie gave me a look. I just laughed. "Okay, so he's not your type. I forgot; you go for a more princely character. Have you seen Jake today?"

Cassie blushed. She has a thing for Jake and thinks that no one knows. But I think that even clueless Jake has figured it out by now.

"We _do_ need to find that guy," I reminded her. "Marco was right. I don't think he'd betray us, but he might give us away by accident."

"Do you have any idea how to find him, though?" she asked me.

I shook my head. "I don't know. We didn't even find out his name. All we know about him is that he has a hawk."

"He had a sword."

"Did he? I didn't notice."

"Maybe he's one of the knights in training. Elfangor's wound didn't seem to bother him, after all. I'll go and check out the practice fields."

"Are you sure you just don't want to see Jake all shirtless and glistening as he practices with Tom?" I teased.

She gave me a hurt look. "Fine. Have fun. But I'm not going there. It depresses me. I'm better than half the full knights and I'm not allowed to touch a sword."

"What will you do, then?"

I shrugged. "May dad just sent in a new eagle for me. I think I'll take him out for some training."

"Honestly, Rachel, I don't know how you can engage in that kind of behavior."

"What? It's just falconing. I let the bird do what birds do. There isn't anything wrong with it. It's no different than horse racing."

"And you _know_ how I feel about that."

"Which is exactly why I'm not inviting you. Have fun with the big sweaty knights. I'll be enjoying some fresh air."

After breakfast, I went to the aviary and retrieved my new eagle. He was heavier than I expected. I hadn't named him yet. It's bad luck to name a bird before you start training it.

I took my eagle and went beyond the edge of the palace, over to the woods. I think eagles liked woods. It would make him feel more at home here.

Technically, I wasn't supposed to be alone, since the eagle could attack me. But I wasn't too worried. I was good with birds. It was a special talent of mine. Birds loved me.

I was enjoying watching my eagle soar and for a moment, I wished I could join him. He looked so free, so…happy. And then I remembered what the Andalite had said. Maybe I could join him. But I wasn't going to practice morphing alone. I can be a bit reckless, but playing with magic is crossing the line, even for me.

Suddenly, I heard my eagle cry out. There was an even larger bird flying with it. No, not with it. Attacking it. I tried to call my bird to me, but he didn't know enough to respond yet.

I cursed. I didn't want to lose my father's gift like this. And I didn't really want my eagle to die, either.

Then, from out of nowhere, a third animal joined the fray. A smaller bird, but it moved with a lot more grace and…skill, I guess…than the eagles. It was joined by a forth bird, identical to it.

The second eagle broke off and wheeled away. No one followed it. My eagle descended and landed on my gloved hand. I started checking him for wounds; there were some minor cuts, but nothing suspicious. The other two birds, hawks I think they were, disappeared into the trees.

"Hey!" I turned to the new voice. A blonde guy was walking towards me. I didn't recognize him. "Is that your eagle?"

I nodded. And then scowled when I saw that, on his arm, there was the same golden eagle that had attacked mine.

"Yeah, it's mine."

"Then I am terribly sorry. I don't know what came over Imaeus. I'm David, by the way."

I nodded. "Rachel." I held out my hand. He decided that was an invitation to kiss it. I yanked it back. "Sorry again," he apologized. "That was our custom back where I used to live."

"You're new around here?"

He nodded. "My father's with a mercenary company. The king here wanted to hire them to keep an eye on the Anati. I travel around with my father a lot. Sorry again."

He seemed nice enough. But there was something about him that I just didn't like. I don't know what it was. It wasn't that he was unattractive or anything…

I heard a rustle behind me. David and I turned to look. Out from the woods stepped the guy with the hawk from the previous night. I realized that it was his hawk (or hawks, apparently) that had saved my eagle.

And Cassie was right; he did have a sword. And he wore it comfortably. David had a sword, too, but it looked awkward and out of place on him.

This new guy was, as I said, incredibly good looking. He had the classic tall, dark, and handsome look going on. There was something in his eyes…something deep. A sorrow he couldn't hide. His face was cold, impassive. Only his eyes gave away anything that he might have been feeling.

"You saved my eagle, didn't you?" I asked, stroking my bird.

"It was team effort." I couldn't tell if that was a joke or not.

"Where's your other hawk?"

"He comes when I need him. You're Princess Rachel, aren't you?"

I nodded. How did he recognize me? Not that many people could recognize me on sight. They could figure it out if I was dressed for something formal or escorted by guards, but I was dressed as normal as I could be today.

"Yeah. I think we met last night after Ellimist was done telling his stories. Do you remember?"

"I didn't sit to listen to the stories. But yeah, we met." He paused. Then, "I'll think I'll be leaving now. I just wanted to make sure your eagle was alright."

"How did you know he was mine?"

"I didn't. But a bald eagle is a noble bird. And I hate golden eagles." He didn't shoot David a look, but he definitely could have been staring him down.

David took the hint, I guess. "Well, my Lady, I must be off. My father wants me in the practice yards. Maybe you'll stop by later? You could show me what the palace's best meals are."

"Maybe," I answered, noncommittally. David turned and left without acknowledging the hawk guy. Hmm…hawk guy. He needed a name. "Dou have a name?" I asked.

A stupid question, I realized. Of course he had one. But for some reason, I wasn't thinking as clearly as I usually did.

He shook his head. "No name. I'm just a figment of your imagination."

"Great. Another Marco. That's the last thing I need on top of everything else."

He sat on the ground and leaned against a tree. He looked…right.

I took a seat next to him. He gave me a look. "A princess sits on the ground?"

"A princess could knock you flat without breaking a sweat," I answered.

He gave me a smile. It looked out of place. "Now _that_ would be interesting to see."

"Don't tempt me."

He stood up and spread his arms. "Come on. I'll give you a free shot."

"You're asking for it," I warned him.

"No. Hit me. Hit me. Now, I'm asking for it."

I didn't have much of a choice. I heaved my eagle into the air and rushed at the jerk. I meant to loop my ankle behind his and push him over.

He grabbed my wrist, spun around behind me, and, with is foot in my back, forced me to my knees. "Hey!" I protested. "You said I got a free shot!"

"Yes, yes I did. I didn't say which shot that would be." Somehow, I knew he was smiling.

He let me go. I stood up and turned around. "That was really unfair." Then, my eyes fell on the sword at his waist.

He saw what I was looking at. "You want your free shot now? Go on, then."

I grabbed the sword and pulled it out of its scabbard. I loved that sound. He gave me a look. "Oh, come on. What, you're going to stab me?"

"You said I get a free shot," I reminded him.

"So do it," he dared.

I don't really know what happened next. I really don't. All I know is that, suddenly, there was blood on his sword and the guy was clutching his side.

I dropped the sword. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…" I trailed off. The wound looked pretty deep.

He smiled at me through gritted teeth. "I've had worse," he hissed. I could tell he was in pain, but he didn't want to show it. Stupid male pride.

"You need help. We've got to take you to a doctor!"

"A what? I'll be fine. Just…" He sat down, hard. Then, he pulled his shirt off. He was bleeding a lot. A small part of my mind noted that he had a lot of scars, too. He tore his shirt into strips and started wrapping his own wound shut. I couldn't think of anything to do.

After he had totally mutilated his shirt, he lurched to his feet. "Well…I suppose I'll be off now, Princess."

Just like that. Like nothing had happened! "No. You're coming with me back to the palace. You need to see a doctor."

"I'll be fine."

"Don't give me that. Come on, you're going and that's final." He grumbled but let me lead him to the palace. I grabbed his arm to make sure he didn't run off when I wasn't looking. That was the only reason. I swear.

About a quarter of the way there, it became apparent that we weren't going to make it. He wasn't walking very much and he was doubled over, one hand tight over his wound. "I'm not going to make it," he gasped.

"You are _not_ going to die on me," I said. Pleaded.

"No. I'm not going to make it to the palace. My home isn't far from here."

I looked around. This wasn't the best section of the village. In fact, it was pretty much the worst. I'd never even been here. I was trying to take a shortcut to the palace but even I tried to avoid this area.

He stumbled down the alleys and I tried to follow him. Eventually, he collapsed against the door of a small hovel. I was amazed that the door withstood his body. He gave it a harder shove and stumbled through.

It was a tiny hut. There were two rooms. One was some kind of bedroom with several overturned kegs in it. The other was the main room. It had a table and some food. In one corner was a ragged blanket. The entire place reeked of cheap ale.

He collapsed into the pile of blankets. I realized with a shock that this is where he lived. His hawk flew through the open door, searching for its master.

The hawk landed next to the guy. He gently started stroking its chest. And then something weird happened.

Feathers grew on the guy's body. He shrank. In a few moments, he was an identical bird. A second red-tailed hawk.

((Oh, this is much better,)) I heard his voice say in my head.

"Is that you?" I asked.

((Could be. But I'm not sure who you're talking to.))

"Well, you never gave me a name."

((No, I suppose I didn't.))

One of the hawks grew back into the guy. He was shirtless, so I could see that his wound was completely gone. He did have a nasty scar now, though. He ran his finger along it. "Hmm…a souvenir from the Princess. I'll take it with me everywhere."

"Are you going to give me your name or will I have to give you another souvenir?"

He just smiled some more. "My name is Tobias."

I nodded. It was a nice name. A bit foreign, though. "Your family lives here?" I asked. I felt the need to say something, after all.

"In a manner of speaking."

"Must you always be cryptic?"

"It's part of my charm."

I laughed. But then I started to think. Maybe there was a reason he didn't want to answer me. He had a foreign name. Maybe he thought I'd laugh at him. Like I was laughing now. I stopped abruptly.

"So do you live here?" I asked again.

He didn't give me any answer this time. "Look, Tobias, it isn't something to be ashamed of. I don't care if you live here or not. I just want to get to know you better, that's all."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I live here with my uncle. He's a bit of a local celebrity."

"Really?"

"He's the town drunk."

"Oh. So…you sleep there?" I asked, nodding at the blanket.

"Sometimes. Usually, I'm in the forest."

I nodded. "So…where did you learn to use a sword? And train hawks?"

He gave me that odd smile. It reminded me of Elfangor's smile. "The Andalites taught me."

"Oh really?" He expected me to believe that?

"Yeah. Well, they taught me some stuff. I was sleeping in the woods one night. I must have been about four or five…"

"You slept in the woods alone at that age?"

He shrugged like it was nothing. "It was safer than being here. Anyhow, when you spend as much time in the woods as I did, you're bound to come across a random Andalite or two. After a decade or so of working with Andalites, I've learned a thing or two."

"Did you know that one from last night?"

"Only by reputation. Prince Elfangor…he was a great hero. The Yeerks were terrified of him. When I found him in the woods…he came here to try to stop the Yeerk invasion all by himself. He tried to do it alone."

"How can someone be that arrogant?"

"Not arrogant. Desperate. He told me…he has a son who lives in this kingdom. He's done everything he can to protect his son from the Yeerks. There wasn't enough time to rally the other Andalites to protect this place, so he had to come on his own."

"His son lives here?"

Tobias nodded. He looked like he was about to say more, but then shook his head. "It amazes me, really. Prince Elfangor crossed thousands of uncharted miles and prepared to fight an army all on his own to protect his son. And yet my mother just up and left without another word."

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Tobias. I didn't know. I just …"

"Of course you didn't know. My father died when I was very young. I'm not sure how; my uncle can't tell me because he didn't think it was worth remembering. And shortly after that, my mother ran off. So I live here when I can't make it in the woods."

"How often is it that you're here? I mean, we've got to fight the Yeerks together, so we need to be able to find you."

"I'm usually in the woods, actually. Even in the winter. But I could stay near the palace for when you need me. Maybe there's some work they'd give me in exchange for sticking around."

"Well, if you're good with that sword, there's a job for you. And that's a very well trained hawk. I'm sure the aviaries could find a place for you. Let's go now. Do you have anything you want to pack?"

Tobias reached in a keg and pulled out a pack. It wasn't nearly full. He stuffed his old blanket into it and tossed in a cloak hanging by the door. "This is all I have. Let's go."

* * *

This is another story that I wrote a while ago. I welcome (maybe crave) feedback (*is feedback junkie*), but any suggestions you have may take a looong time to be implimented. Still, I welcome suggestions and will try to work them in whenever possible.

~b;)d


	2. The Second Bit

**Jake**

Marco and I were walking down the halls of the palace, on our way to a meeting with Chapman. Even though we were nobles, he still insisted that we do well in school. Actually, he insisted that we do better than anyone else because we were nobles.

Marco was saying to me, "I'm telling you, it was all just a dream. That Ellimist messed with our heads and we just happened to have the same dream. He's probably some kind of wizard."

I shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, if it was real, someone would have seen that guy with the hawk."

Almost as if on cue, we turned the corner and ran into Rachel and that guy. When Marco ran into him, Marco almost fell over. It must have been like hitting a wall, because the guy didn't move. Although his hand _did_ jump to the sword at his side.

Rachel seemed happy to see us. "Oh, great, you two are here. Can you show Tobias to the aviary? I was supposed to meet Cassie in the stables like twenty minutes ago."

Marco glared at the guy, presumably Tobias. "So, I guess that means that wasn't a dream, then."

Rachel shook her head. "No. I saw Tobias turn into a hawk."

Marco leapt to his feet and slapped a hand over her mouth. "Not so loud, Rachel. If that was all real, anyone could be…one of them."

Tobias nodded. "We can't trust anyone. Not much of a change for me, I guess."

I shook my head. "No, we can trust each other. We know that the rest of us aren't with them."

"With who?" I heard Cassie ask. She just entered the hallway. "Oh, Rachel, there you are. I've been wondering where you were. Ah, you found him."

Rachel nodded. "Some golden eagle was attacking my new bald eagle. Tobias saved him."

Tobias just shrugged. "I hate golden eagles. And there was something I didn't like about that David character."

"You too, huh?" Rachel answered.

I looked from one to the other. They already seemed like old friends. Did they already know each other? Rachel doesn't warm up to people quickly.

"You didn't seem to have much of a problem with him," Tobias said to her. It was weird. His tone sounded like he was teasing her, but his face didn't give any of it away. And his eyes…they reminded me of that hawk he had. Speaking of which…

"Where's your bird?" I asked.

"She's out hunting, probably. She missed her breakfast this morning because someone," he shot Rachel a look, "couldn't take care of herself."

"I was fine," Rachel insisted. "I could still handle you just fine."

"That isn't how I remember it. If I recall correctly, the last time you tried to 'handle' me, you ended up on the ground and I stayed standing."

I raised an eyebrow. Rachel was tougher than she looked. There was a reason Marco called her the Warrior Princess. If Tobias could handle her…

"Hey," I began. "Are you any good with that sword?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Seeing as I'm not dead, I'd say so."

"You've actually fought people Like, to the death?" Marco asked, surprised. None of us had ever been in a real fight.

Tobias just shrugged. "It happens. You do what you have to do to survive. Some just have to do a little more than others."

I realized why Rachel liked this guy.

"Oh," Rachel said suddenly. "I almost forgot. Tobias, we were supposed to go down to the practice yards and try to get you a job."

He nodded. "Alright."

Cassie gave Rachel a look. "I thought you hated the practice yards, Rachel. It was too depressing for you. What's changed?" Cassie gave her a wink. I tried to suppress what that wink did to me.

"Okay. You two have fun. But seriously," Marco said, "Tobias was right. We can't trust anyone but each other. I say we never talk about Yeerks, Andalites, and morphing again."

Tobias and Rachel shook their heads in unison. "No way," Tobias said. "I owe too much to the Andalites to just sit back and let the Yeerks have their way. I don't know what the rest of you are going to do, but I'm going to fight. I'll do it alone if I have to."

"I'll be there," Rachel said instantly. "I am not sitting by and letting Yeerks take over my kingdom. I'm in, too."

"You don't get it," Marco said. "We could get killed. Killed. And then what would happen?"

Tobias shrugged. "In my case, nothing. No one would miss me."

"We would," Rachel insisted.

"Speak for yourself," Marco muttered.

"Marco, I halfway agree with you," I began.

"Thanks," Tobias snorted. I couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or not.

"But I agree with Rachel and Tobias, too. We can't sit by and let this happen. I mean…it's our responsibility to help, Marco."

Marco sighed. "You and your responsibility. Sometimes, Jake, I think you forget you're a prince. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

I ignored him and turned to Cassie. "Cassie, what do you think?"

"I think…I don't like any of this. We could get killed."

"Exactly!" Marco shouted. "We could all die. Think for a moment, guys. If I died, my dad would lose it. That would be the end of him. The only reason he's still holding on at all is because of me. If he lost me, that'd be the end of him. Jake, you couldn't convince your dad to keep him around any longer after that. He'd be totally dead. He might actually kill himself.

"And you, Cassie. What would your parents do? How would they feel if they spent all their time saving animals and couldn't save their own daughter? They'd snap, Cassie. We all know it."

Marco spun to look at me and Rachel. "And the two of you! You're a Prince and Princess, for God's sake! The whole kingdom might be torn apart! If something happened to you, your families would probably think it was assassins. You could start a whole other war!"

He turned and looked at Tobias. I guess Marco was speechless. "Okay, look, I don't know you. I don't know what your family is like, but—"

"Then let me tell you. My father is dead. My mother ran off; I think she's dead, too. My uncle is the town drunk. He's either unconscious in an alley or back home getting me confused with a dusty rug."

The hawk-like look in Tobias' eyes was suddenly stronger than his usual look of pain. "Every day, I have to fight for my life. Do think I carry this sword around because I like it? I'm not afraid to die. If I die in this fight, I'll be okay with that. There's only one thing I couldn't take and that's knowing that I sat by and did nothing. If you don't want to fight, if you're afraid to die, that's your business. But don't stand here and try to tell me that this isn't worth my life because I've almost lost it before for a lot of worse reasons."

We all just sort of stared at him for a few moments. Tobias sighed. "Look, I get it. You've never faced death before. You're afraid. Well, I am, too. When you face death without fear, you've lost your mind. But if you sit back and let your fear control you…well, then you're nothing but a coward. Now, I'm a lot of things, most of them bad, but one thing I'm not is a coward.

"Maybe it's because I've got less to lose. I don't know. What I do know is this. I've never been one to stand up for others. I try to mind my own business because I learned the hard way that trying to help and trying to care only gets you hurt.

"But Elfangor died for me. For all of us. He could have fled and lived. But instead he stayed to warn us. And that isn't something I can ever forget. So the rest of you can go home to your families. But I'm ready to die for Elfangor, because he already died for me."

Again we were silent. Then, I looked at Marco. "How can you argue with a speech like that? I'm with Tobias and Rachel. I'll fight."

Cassie nodded. "Someone has to. I _do_ believe in helping others. We're the only ones who can, now. It's all up to us."

Marco sighed. "Fine. You all want to run off and get yourselves killed, that's fine. I'll have to come along to make sure you don't die."

Rachel laughed. "If Marco's the voice of reason, we're all dead."

**Marco**

After we all decided it was a good idea to get ourselves killed, we went down to the practice yards so that we could find Tobias a job.

I already didn't like him. There were a couple of reasons for this, some of them good reasons, some of them not so logical.

My first reason was that he was acting like he was one of us. Jake, Rachel, Cassie, and I had been friends for as long as I can remember. At least, Jake and I have. It's the same with Cassie and Rachel. And we all knew each other because there weren't a lot of children in the palace.

Then Tobias showed up. Somehow, he managed to talk all of my friends into throwing their lives away on some ridiculous fight that shouldn't even be real. It wasn't fair.

He had managed to talk Jake into something ridiculous. Do you have any idea how many times I've tried to talk Jake into stupid stuff? But Tobias did it so easily. Talking Jake into stupid things was my turf.

And there was the other thing. The thing with Rachel. She obviously liked this guy. You'd have to be an idiot not to see it. And, since Tobias was a human male, he liked her. The problem? I saw her first.

Normally, I wouldn't have to worry about stuff like this. I was a noble (not exactly, but I was friends with them) and Tobias wasn't. Rachel's parents could just order her to be with whoever they wanted her to be with and if I asked them, that would be me. But Rachel wasn't exactly the type of girl to listen to her parents.

It took us about five minutes to get to the practice yards and by that time, I had already heard Rachel laugh at about a thousand un-funny things Tobias had said. The man sickened me.

In the practice fields, we saw a lot of people fighting. A lot of them were with the mercenary company that had moved in earlier that day. We also saw Tom.

"Hey, Tom," Jake called.

Tom didn't flinch. He was busy practicing against some guy about our age. Tom was wiping the floor with him. Tom was very good at what he did.

"That's David Tom's fighting," Rachel muttered.

Tobias raised an eyebrow. "Prince Tom?'

"Yeah," Jake confirmed. "My brother."

"I should have guessed."

"Who's David?" I asked.

"His father's with the mercenaries," Rachel told me. "Tobias and I met David earlier."

"Well, he's got nothing on Tom," Jake said proudly.

"Of course not," Rachel agreed. "Tom's the best."

"Even better than the mighty Rachel?" I teased.

"Well…he's not better than me, but he's bigger and stronger, so he's got advantages. That's why he usually wins when we spar."

"I haven't spared with Tom in a while now," Jake commented "He's been different lately. He's been…more responsible, I guess. He's even taken an interest in that organization the villagers were forming. What's it called? The Sharing. He's really in to that."

Something flashed across Tobias's eyes but it was gone before I could read it. Tom and David broke off, David almost lying on the ground. Tom hadn't even broken a sweat.

Now Tom turned to us. "Hey, Jake. Marco. Rachel. Cassie. Who's your friend?"

"This is Tobias," Rachel said. "We were hoping we could find him a job here."

Tom shrugged. "Does he know how to use that sword he's carrying?"

Tobias nodded. "I can use it."

Ton smiled. "Well, come on. Show me."

Tobias shrugged. Then, he took off his sword and handed it to Rachel. That made me jump. He was treating her like some kind of serving girl. And she was letting him. This had to be stopped.

Tobias picked up one of the wooden practice swords and tested it. "A little light."

Tom shrugged and then assumed his stance. Tobias did the same. I leaned over to Jake. "So, I'm guessing five strokes."

Jake eyed them. "I don't know. I mean, if Tobias has fought for his life…most of the people Tom fights with haven't ever been in a real fight. Then again, he was trained by the best. I'll give Tobias seven."

"Seven? Wow, you've never given someone that high before," I commented.

"What are you two doing?" Cassie asked.

"Oh," I said. "We're begging on how many strokes it will take Tom to beat this guy."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, I know I'll never understand guys."

"I'll give him ten," Rachel said.

"Or you," Cassie amended.

Jake and I just stared at Rachel. "Ten?" I asked. "TEN!? What, are you carrying his child?"

"Sooner his than yours," she told me. Then she whispered, "Tobias was trained by Andalites."

Oh. "In that case, I'll give him until four."

Tom and Tobias advanced. Tobias parried Tom's first stroke and counterattacked. I heard wood smash against wood over and over again. Usually, you fought until one of you hit the other with the sword. That wasn't happening. They kept going. Almost before I realized it, they were at eight strokes. Then they broke off, Tom and Rachel smiling. Rachel was smiling because it Jake and I had already lost.

Tom laughed. "You're good, kid. There's definitely a place here."

Tom turned to leave. "Wait," Tobias called. "Aren't we going to finish?"

Tom shrugged. "If you really want to lose, that's fine with me." Then, in a stage whisper we could all hear, he added, "But I was trying not to embarrass you in front of Rachel."

"Don't worry. I'm shameless," Tobias replied dryly. "Are we going to do this or not?" He leveled his sword.

Tom sighed and raised his own wooden sword. "If you really want to…"

Rachel leaned over to me. "Does this still count as part of the original bet?"

I shrugged. "I don't think so. I'll give Tobias seven this time."

Jake nodded. "Five." I raised an eyebrow. Tom was his idol. He needed to see things more clearly. And as much as I hated Tobias, the guy had skill.

Then, Rachel said the last thing I expected. "Tobias will win."

I didn't even bother to give her a confused look.

Tom and Tobias went at it again. After seven strokes, they broke apart again. Then, they went at it some more. But this time, Tobias seemed different. I'm no expert (I don't pay as much attention as Rachel and Jake, at least), but Tobias's style seemed different now. It seemed…better.

Tom's eyes went wide. And then I saw him mouth a word. It looked like "Andalite!" Tobias just smiled.

Suddenly, Tom's style looked different. He was feinting a lot, and dodging a lot more. He usually just parried Tobias's strokes, but now he was almost running from him.

Then, Tom leapt at Tobias. He kicked Tobias's sword out of his hand. Tobias stumbled backward and dodged under one of Tom's slashes.

"Tom, that's enough," Cassie said. "He's disarmed. It's over."

"It's not over," Tom and Tobias hissed at the same time. Tobias dove on the ground, rolled, and sprang up next to Rachel. He grabbed his sword out of her hands. This suddenly got serious.

Jake stepped in between Tom and Tobias. "Hold on here. That isn't a practice sword. And Tom, it's illegal to kick in a duel."

Tobias and Tom both shrugged. "You do what you have to do," Tobias answered. "I don't hold it against him. I can't say I would have acted any differently."

Tom was drenched in sweat now. He sat down on the ground. "Man, you _are _good. Where'd you learn to fight?"

"Here and there."

"Well, I'm hoping you'll stay here. I'm the heir to the throne, so I can sure as heck get you a job here. I'm not sure where you'll stay, though."

"He could stay with me," Jake offered.

Tom shook his head. "You're a great guy and all, Jake, but a prince does not give up his room to anyone. He can stay with Marco."

There wasn't any point in protesting, since Tom would one day be the king. His word was law.

"I guess that makes us roommates," Tobias said to me.

"Oh joy."

**Cassie**

It was pretty obvious to me that Marco didn't like Tobias. I don't know whether or not Tobias realized it. Usually, I'm pretty good at reading people, but it wasn't easy with Tobias. His face never gave anything away and I didn't know him at all.

It was just as obvious that Rachel liked him. A lot. She looked at him the way Marco looked at her. It's kind of a shame about the two of them. I used to try to get Rachel to like Marco, but it never worked out.

I thought it would be great if Marco and Rachel liked each other. Then maybe I wouldn't feel so awkward around Jake. I know he liked me and I feel the same way, but Marco and Rachel can be…well, jerks. But if they were together, they wouldn't be able to say anything about Jake and me.

That dream was all but dead, though. Besides, I had bigger problems now. Namely the Yeerks and Andalites. We had decided to fight. Now we needed to figure out how.

Jake seemed to be reading my thoughts as we walked away from the practice fields. "Okay. Now that we have that taken care of, we need to decide what to do about the Yeerks. I—"

"Not here," Marco hissed. "We need somewhere private. Somewhere no one will overhear us."

"What about the barn?" I asked. "Pretty much no one but my parents and I go there."

"Sounds good." We steered off in the direction of the barn. Suddenly, I heard the screech of a hawk, followed by the screech of a Marco.

"Ah! Get it off of me."

"It isn't even on you, you big baby," Rachel said.

I turned around to see a hawk perching on Tobias's shoulder. If its talons hurt him, he didn't show it. Marco glared at the hawk. "Is that…thing…going to be living with us?"

Tobias shrugged, which caused his hawk to flap its wings and screech. "If she knows what's good for her. She had a bad accident as a chick and it left her severely mentally retarded. She can't survive on her own in the wild." (A/N: That's based on a true story. I actually met a retarded red-tailed hawk once. Not that you care…)

"Is that how you met?" I asked.

He nodded. "I saw the whole thing. I was walking in the woods a couple years ago. She was flying past and got mobbed by a bunch of jays. She crashed into a tree. I did what I could to take care of her and she's stayed with me ever since."

"Oh, so he rescues animals, too. Soon he'll have Rachel _and_ Cassie eating out of his hand," Marco grumbled.

Jake elbowed Marco. "Uh, dude? You said that out loud. We could all hear you."

"Oh."

"We're there," I interrupted, opening the barn doors. We walked in. Tobias's hawk perched in the rafters.

"She'll tell us if anyone approaches," Tobias assured us.

"Smart hawk," Rachel commented.

Tobias fixed her with a look that I wouldn't have minded getting. "Animals take after their owners."

"And the other way around," I added. That was a proven fact.

"Does that mean Tobias eats mice?" Marco demanded. He sounded hopeful.

Tobias shrugged. "You do what you have to do."

Jake and Marco looked a little sick at that.

Jake composed himself first. "Okay, people, we need to get down to business. How do we fight the Yeerks?"

I looked at Tobias. Somehow, I thought he knew the most about Yeerks. He didn't disappoint me. "The Andalites I've met have told me some things. For one thing, the Yeerks need to go and perform a ritual every three days or their hold on the person they control is broken."

Marco perked up. "Okay, that's helpful. What do you know about this?"

"It's called the Kandrona ritual. A Controller, someone who is controlled by a Yeerk, has to go to a special place. There, the Controller is temporarily freed from the Yeerk's control so that the Yeerk can rest and recharge its magic. After that, they perform a ritual and the person goes back under the Yeerk's control."

"Okay," Jake said. "So if we could disrupt this ritual, we could free people, right?"

Marco nodded. "And if we free enough, they can warn everyone. That's a good idea. But how do we disrupt it?"

"Magic rituals have components. I think it has a focus for the spell. So if we destroyed that…" Rachel trailed off.

"How do we even find it?" I wondered.

"By following Controllers we know," Marco said. "Like Chapman. OH!!!"

"What?" I asked.

"Jake and I were supposed to meet Chapman like an hour ago!"

Jake slumped on the bale of hay he was sitting on. "Oh man. This isn't going to be good."

"He's not the only Controller you know," Tobias said quietly.

"What? Who else is there?" I asked.

Tobias didn't respond. "Come on, Tobias, out with it," Rachel urged.

"You won't like it," he insisted.

"Just say it already," Jake ordered. He isn't the ordering type, but it slips out sometimes. Probably his royal upbringing.

"Tom. He's one of them."

"No he isn't. Any other guesses?" Jake said. He didn't even consider it.

Tobias shook his head. "Tom's one of them, Prince Jake. I could tell when I was fighting him. I started to suspect when I saw him fighting David. He was using Yeerk moves, Jake. Where would he have learned them?"

"You can't tell someone's a Controller by how they fight," Marco protested.

Tobias nodded. "Yes, I can. You learn a lot about someone when they try to kill you."

"He wasn't trying to kill you," Jake insisted.

I nodded. "Tom wouldn't do that."

"Maybe Tom wouldn't. But a Yeerk would. He called me an Andalite and then he tried to kill me. He'd have kept fighting, except I grabbed a real sword. If I hadn't done that, he'd have killed me and acted like it was a terrible accident."

"No. You're wrong."

"Oh? The Yeerks can be anyone, Jake."

"So can the Andalites," Marco said. "And we don't' know who's good and who's evil."

Tobias glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, sure, we've heard the Andalites' side of the story," Marco went on, "but we haven't heard from the Yeerks. They might not be so bad."

"The Yeerks are the worst scum in all the land," Tobias said. "They're murderers, thieves, and cowards."

"Of course you'd say that. But how do we know that we can trust you?"

"What do you mean?"

"What were you doing in the woods alone? Why were you already there with Elfangor? Why do you know so much about Andalites and Yeerks?"

"What are you getting at?" Tobias demanded. The mask was starting to slip. He was getting angry.

"You know what I think? I think," Marco said, leaning close to him, "you're an Andalite."

Tobias was unphased. "I'm flattered, but you're wrong. If I was an Andalite, why would I be lying?"

"You tell me."

Tobias shook his head. "This is ridiculous. Look, you'll have to trust me that I am who I say I am."

"Why should we? Does anyone here actually trust Tobias?" Marco demanded.

"I trust him," Rachel said immediately.

Marco rolled his eyes. "How about someone who _didn't_ fall in love with him. Jake? Cassie?"

"I don't know. I feel like he's telling the truth, Marco but… Tobias' there's something you're hiding from us. What is it?"

He sighed. "Okay. I wasn't going to tell you this but here goes. Elfangor was here alone because he needed to get here fast. He was trying to save his son from the Yeerks."

"He has a son?" Jake asked.

Tobias nodded. "Yeah. His mother was a normal human woman, so his son is half-Andalite. Now the Yeerks are hunting for him. They're afraid of him. And Elfangor was a Prince, so his son is now the heir to all that the Andalites have left. If they could take him…"

"Who is he? If Elfangor was dying, he must have told you," Jake said.

Somehow, I knew. I knew what Tobias was hiding. Tobias and I locked eyes, then he nodded. "It's Tobias," I said. "He's Elfangor's son."

Marco threw up his hands. "And there you have it. How can we trust anything this guy says?"

We all sat there in silence for a while. Then, Rachel turned to Tobias. "Okay, so what do we do? How can we hurt the Yeerks?"

"What!?" Marco exploded. "You're still on his side?"

"Yeah. I don't care if he's half Andalite or not. Actually, I think it's kind of cool."

Tobias shrugged. "We need to follow Controllers. If you don't believe that Tom is one of them, that's your business. But we all know that Chapman is one. Follow him. Sooner or later, he'll need the Kandrona. And when he goes there, we'll follow."

"And then we wreck the place?" Rachel said.

"And then we wreck the place," Tobias replied with a smile.

"But how?" Jake asked. "We'll need powerful morphs, I think. Where can we get them."

Everyone turned to me. "Okay. I guess it's time for a trip to the Gardens."


	3. The Third Bit

**Tobias**

"The gardens?" I asked.

Jake nodded. "The Gardens. They're out behind the palace. We keep the menagerie there."

"Menagerie?" Marco said. "Well, I'm fine with any combination that involves Rachel."

It took us all a moment to get the joke. Then Rachel swatted Marco on the arm, which made me smile in spite of myself. Then it was off to the gardens.

I can't describe how out of place I felt. We were walking through a palace. A palace! I was lucky if I slept with a blanket most nights. Heck, I grew up in the woods and in the streets. I didn't belong in the palace.

To be honest, I didn't think I was particularly welcomed, either. Marco certainly wanted me out of there. I couldn't tell if he was naturally suspicious or if there was something about me he didn't like, but I saw well enough that he wanted me gone.

Rachel just as clearly wanted me to stick around. She was the one who suggest that I come, after all. I couldn't figure out her motivation, though. I dismissed my first thoughts because they were impossible. There was no way a smart, beautiful princess wanted anything to do with me like that. She was up to something and I wanted to know what it was.

Cassie seemed nice enough, but she gave me the impression that she was nice to everyone. She'd probably be willing to hear the Yeerks' side of the story if it was offered to her. Nice, but naïve.

Jake was the swing vote, I guess. He seemed to be their leader; that was to be expected, since his father was the king. If he wanted me to stick around, I'd be allowed to stay. If not…well, then I'd do what I've always done.

I wasn't even sure if I wanted to stay, really. I had a war to fight and I wasn't sure if these nobles could cut it. Rachel seemed like a fighter, and Jake might have been. Cassie and Marco weren't warriors, though. Then again, it takes more than soldiers to fight a war.

Whether or not I'd stick around, I followed them to the menagerie. I could at least use this opportunity to grab some powerful morphs. If I ended up fighting alone, they'd come in handy.

The Gardens was/were impressive (I'm not sure if that's supposed to be singular or plural). Instead of actually being a garden, there was a massive, open field. Half of it seemed to hold the sort of things the nobles played with. Horses, jousting equipment, stuff like that. Most of it was stuff I hadn't seen before.

The other half was a zoo. They called it a menagerie, but it was just a zoo. I guess menagerie is noble talk for 'bunch of animals in boxes.'

Cassie led us through the twisting alleys between them. "My parents are in charge of the menagerie," she said, mostly to me since everyone else already knew that. "I know my way around here. Hey, here's a good one. Who likes monkeys?"

Marco practically jumped up and down. "I love monkeys."

"You would. They're just like you," Rachel replied.

"They _are_ adorable. And regrettably small."

"And covered in hair. And loud. And annoying."

"And," Marco added, giving her a pointed look, "they fling their feces at people they don't like."

Rachel only responded with a poisonous look.

Cassie broke the tension. "Well, Marco, today's your lucky day. You get to get up close and personal with a monkey."

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Maybe this whole Yeerk-Andalite thing won't be so bad after all."

Cassie opened one of the cages. "Go on in, Marco. He's really friendly."

Marco took one look in the cage and then shook his head. "Cassie, that isn't a monkey. That's a gorilla."

"Well, if I had told you that earlier, you wouldn't have agreed to do this."

"But—"

"Too late," Jake said. "You already said you'd do it. You aren't going to wuss out, are you?"

Before Marco could answer, Rachel kicked him into the cage. "Get on with it," she ordered.

A few moments later, Marco came out, glaring at me like it was my fault. "Okay. I really hope I acquired that gorilla because I do _not_ want to do that again. Do you realize how big those things are?"

"If I morph something bigger, will you stop whining?" Rachel demanded.

"Yes. I will gladly stop if you find something bigger to morph." Just then, I heard a strange noise in the distance. It sounded like a trumpet, but there was a notable difference.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Elephant," Cassie replied. A kind of scary grin grew over Rachel's face.

"I'll be right back."

"You are _not_ going to acquire that thing alone," Jake warned her.

"Fine. Come on, Tobias." She grabbed my arm and started dragging me off before I could protest. I couldn't help but notice the look Marco was giving me.

Oh. So that was why he didn't like me. Well, there wasn't much I could do about that. It wasn't what it looked like anyway. I didn't know what Rachel's game was, but I knew it wasn't what it appeared to be.

I'm not sure how Rachel found the elephant so quickly. Maybe she spent a lot of time sneaking around back here with Cassie. Or maybe it's just easy to find an elephant. However she did it, we made our way to the elephant without trouble.

I climbed into the pen without too much trouble. The fence was strong, since it was designed to hold back an elephant, but it was easy to climb. Rachel joined me inside almost as soon as I was in.

We stared at the elephant. "Wow," I gasped. "That's bigger than I thought it would be."

"Yeah," she said, sounding out of breath. She shook her head, "Well, let's do it. Uh…how do we go about doing this?"

"First, you have to touch it. Concentrate on it and you'll feel it become part of you. It should relax when you're acquiring it."

"Should?"

"Well, my hawk did. And I think Marco's gorilla did it, too. Anyway, the elephant probably wouldn't mind you touching him. I mean, what could he be afraid of?"

"Right. No problem," she said. Her words were confident. Her voice wasn't. But, in what I guess was her usual style, she did it anyway. She reached out and grabbed the elephant's trunk.

"I wouldn't have encouraged squeezing," I mumbled, eying her white-knuckle grip.

"I am _trying_ to concentrate!"

As with my hawk, the elephant went limp. Well, as limp as an elephant can go. After about ten seconds, Rachel relaxed. "Okay, I think I got him. Do you want to acquire him, too?"

I shrugged. "Couldn't hurt." I acquired the elephant too. "Now let's get out of here. He might not be very happy when he comes to. And we don't have a lot of time."

We climbed back out of the cage. Rachel turned to me. "Well, is there a special animal you want to acquire?"

I shrugged. "Visser Three can morph a dragon. Is there anything around here that can handle that?"

"I didn't even believe in dragons until last night," Rachel answered. "I think we have a unicorn somewhere around here, although it might just be a horse with a massive tumor."

"Unicorn? No thanks. I was thinking of something…not so gay."

"Well, I think the Gardens just got something you might like."

"what?"

"A giant anaconda. It was brought in by some explorer who went pretty far south. You'd have to ask Cassie about it. All I know is that it's like thirty feet long and I saw it crush a deer's neck and swallow the deer whole."

"Well, let's get at it."

Rachel led me to the reptile house. It was supposed to be closed for some reason or another, but no one was going to stop Rachel from walking in.

I shivered. "It's cold in here."

"Yeah. I think it keeps the reptiles sleepy."

"Good. The acquiring trance ought to knock the thing right out, then."

It wasn't hard to find the anaconda. There were several signs directing us to it, since it was the newest exhibit in the Gardens. "Who comes here anyway?" I asked. "I didn't even know you had a zoo here."

"You didn't? I thought everyone did. The wealth people come from all over the place to see the menagerie."

"Just call it a zoo."

"Why?"

"Because I hate the word menagerie. It's…pretentious."

Rachel decided to glare at me. "That's how I talk."

"Well, I don't like it." Bad move.

"Do you expect me to stop?" It almost sounded like a challenge. But I wasn't stupid. I shrugged and decided it was best not to answer.

The anaconda's had pretty thick bars and I definitely couldn't climb over. How go get in… "Uh, Rachel, any ideas how I can get in there to acquire the snake?"

"I'd give you a suggestion, but that would require talking and I'm too pretentious for you."

That was pretty much the response I expected. I gazed at the anaconda, wondering what to do. I could see it without any trouble. It was, like Rachel said, about thirty feet long. It was dark and covered in scales. Pretty much what you'd expect from a snake.

I guess it sensed me because it lifted its head up to see me. For a frozen moment, I looked into his eyes. They were beautiful, in their own way. It was a simple, uncomplicated life the snake lived.

It was a loner. I could see that. It went through life alone. It waited, hidden, until an opportunity presented itself. Then, it struck with everything it had and squeezed the life out of anything that tried to stop it. It's mind was a simple one, uncomplicated. It was the cold mind of the predator.

Slowly, I reached my hand out and placed it on the snake's head. It closed its eyes as I acquired it. I could feel it becoming a part of me. But at the same time, I felt like I was becoming a part of it. I was taking something from this place, but I was leaving something behind as well.

"Okay," I said. "I think we're done for today.

Rachel and I left the reptile house and bumped into someone. "Lord Chapman," Rachel said. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Hello, Rachel. What were you doing in the reptile house? It looks closed." He switched his gaze from her to me and back again.

"It's not what you think," I promised.

"Well, it's really none of my business. Although, Princes, I do believe your mother will want to know about this."

"Lord Chapman, there really isn't any reason to let my mother know about this," Rachel insisted.

"Oh? Do you realize you were supposed to see me for your private lessons half an hour ago? When you did not arrive, I came looking for you. I thought I might find you in the Gardens. I think your mother should know that you have been ignoring your studies to sneak off into closed buildings with young men."

Rachel went pale. "It really wasn't anything like that," I insisted. "We were just…" Just what? Touching a giant snake so that I could turn into it and squeeze the Yeerk out of your brain? It would be better to let him think what he was thinking than to let him know the truth.

Rachel thought fast. "We were looking for Jake and Marco. We couldn't find them and we thought they might be playing around in the reptile house."

Chapman snorted. "Oh, yes, Jake and Marco. I had almost forgotten about them. Have you seen them?"

"I think they were over by the gorilla," Rachel answered.

"Thank you, Rachel. I hope you will not miss tomorrow's lessons."

"I won't, Lord Chapman."

"Good. And your friend…"

"Tobias," I said.

"Tobias. Will you be receiving instructions as well?" Chapman asked.

I didn't know. Rachel answered instead. "Probably. He's new here; just got hired by Tom at the practice yards less than an hour ago."

"Ah, how wonderful. You were from the village, Tobias?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Then perhaps you've heard of the Sharing."

I nodded. "I've heard a thing or two."

"Well, you might not know this, but Prince Thomas is very involved in the Sharing. I'm sure he'll offer you the chance to join soon. Adjusting to life in the palace might be difficult and the Sharing can make that adjustment much easier."

"You don't say."

"Oh, but I do. You should come to one of our meetings. Actually, we are having a feast by the lake tomorrow night. You should come. You, too, Princess Rachel. I think you would enjoy it very much."

Chapman left after that. As we walked towards the exit gates, I turned to Rachel. "I think we should go to the Sharing."

"I don't know. From what I've heard, it sounds kind of like a cult."

"Not because of that. Because I think it's run by the Yeerks."

**Jake**

The rest of the day at the Gardens wasn't too eventful. I acquired a sick tiger and Cassie found a wolf she liked. W didn't see Rachel and Tobias again, but Cassie was sure there was no reason to worry. I wasn't so sure. I didn't know how much we could trust Tobias.

We went home after Cassie acquired the wolf. She had a lot of work to do in the barn and, as much as I may like Cassie, it was a _lot_ of work and I didn't want to get involved. Besides, most of it was stuff I couldn't help with.

Marco and I were making our way through the palace back to my room, arguing as usual. Marco opened his mouth to say something wrong, but then stopped and stared down the hallway.

Chapman stared back. "Ah, Prince Jake. And Marco, our favorite jester. I was hoping I could find you at some point today. You missed your lessons."

"I'm sorry, Lord Chapman," I said quickly. I tried not to stare at his head. I knew he was Controller; I had seen him with Visser Three. It was almost impossible to treat him like a normal human.

"What were you two doing all day?" I cringed. Chapman was the only one in all the kingdom who my father gave permission to punish me. He could make me work like a stable boy if he wanted to.

"We went to the Gardens," Marco answered, more or less truthfully.

Chapman nodded. "I thought so. If you two really need something to do-" I groaned. Here comes the manual labor, "-you could join the Sharing."

Huh? That wasn't what I was expecting. "What's so special about it?" Marco asked.

"Oh, it's wonderful fun. I'm one of the leaders, actually. You'll meet a lot of people from the village who you wouldn't know otherwise. It's a great experience. Prince Tom is very fond of it."

"Yeah, he seems to be," I agreed.

After a pause, Chapman asked, "Were the two of you in the woods last night after the storyteller was finished?"

What? Why would he ask that? How could he know? "Why do you ask, sir?"

"I heard a report from the local authorities. Some children may have been up to no good in the forest last night. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't one of them. People count on you to set a good example, Jake. Were you up to anything disorderly?"

"No way, Lord Chapman. You know me. I'm as responsible as they come." Chapman looked pointedly at Marco. I sighed. "I keep him in line," I assured him.

"See that you do."

Chapman let us go after that. I had a feeling my parents would find out I skipped my lessons to go to the Gardens, though. I expected them to somehow know before I even reached the inner keep, where I lived.

When I got there, my parents weren't there. Affairs of state or something. Tom was, though. He was leaning against the wall, giving me a smug smile. "What?" I asked.

"I just got an interesting letter from Lord Chapman."

"Oh. That."

"Yeah. You know, Jake, I could keep this from Mom and Dad. But you'd have to do something for me."

"Like what?" There wasn't much I could do. It wasn't like we had chores like Marco and Cassie. What could he want?

"You have to go to the Sharing with me tomorrow. Now, I know how much you hate mingling with the commoners," he gave Marco a smile to show that he was kidding, "but I think you'll have fun. Who knows," he added with a wink, "Cassie might be there."

"Fine, I'll go. It does sound like fun."

I turned to leave when he asked me something. "Hey, Jake, were you in the woods last night?"

"No. Why?"

He shrugged. "Just a guess. Okay, have fun."

Marco and I left Tom and went to my room. As soon as we reached it, Marco shut the door. "Jake," he said quietly, "I think Tobias was right."

"About what?" I asked, flopping down on my bed. It was kind of a long day. You try petting a live tiger and see if it doesn't wear you out!

"About Tom. Being one of them."

I threw a pillow at him. "Get out of here, Marco. I thought you hated Tobias."

"That doesn't make him stupid. Look, Jake, think about some things. Chapman, who we know beyond any reasonable doubt, is one of them. He was all geared up to invite us to the Sharing. And now, Tom is doing the same thing."

"So what? So Tom likes the Sharing. It _does_ sound like fun, Marco."

"Yeah, maybe. Except that Chapman asked us if we were in the woods. Understandable, since he's one of them. They might have figured out that some kids were in the forest and they wanted to find out if they saw anything. Like a dragon."

I probably knew where he was going with this, but I didn't want to believe it. "So what?" I repeated.

"So Tom also asked if we were in the forest last night, Jake. And Tobias…well, he does know Andalites and Yeerks. If he says that Tom fights like a Yeerk, he might be right."

"Get out of here, Marco."

"Look, I'm serious."

"So am I. You aren't going to come here and insult my brother right in front of me. If you're going to do that, just get out."

He shrugged. "Fine, I'll go. But Jake, I think we should go to the Sharing tomorrow. Scope it out because if I'm right, we have a lead on the Yeerks. If I'm wrong—"

"Which you are."

"—no harm done, right?"

"Right. We have to go tomorrow anyway, since I don't want my parents to know what happened with Chapman."

"At least now I know why he's so evil. How long do you think he's been one of them? I'm sure it started around the time he made me scrub the dining hall with that toothbrush. What kind of human being does that? The man is evil. His daughter's cute, though."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess she is."

"You think I have a shot?"

"I thought you were obsessing over Rachel."

He shrugged. "What, I can't obsess over two girls at once? Besides, I think Rachel's got a thing for that Tobias guy. Maybe it's the whole Andalite thing."

"What are you guys talking about?" we heard Tom ask as he opened the door. Marco and I froze. How long had he been listening?

"Girls," Marco answered, more or less truthfully.

"Really? I could have sworn I heard the word Andalite," Tom said. Did he sound suspicious? Maybe; maybe it was just the usual suspicion of a man who thought he had been lied to. Yeah, that had to be it. Because there was no way he was a Yeerk.

I decided I'd be mostly honest with him. "You remember that guy, Tobias?"

"Yeah," Tom said, rubbing his shoulder. "Gave me the best workout I've had in a long time. What about him?"

"He claims he's half Andalite," Marco said.

"Do you believe him?" Tom almost sounded casual. Almost. But he leaned forward a bit too far. He cared a bit too much.

No, that was just my imagination. It was because Marco and Tobias put the suspicion in my mind. I was imagining things. I was sure of it.

Marco laughed. "Please. Andalites? Give me a break. I may not be a prince, but I'm not an idiot. Only fools and kids believe in that stuff."

Tom laughed, too. "Right you are. Andalites, Yeerks, dragons, all of that. It's ridiculous."

Marco met my eyes. I had to ask. "Tom, who said anything about Yeerks?"

He looked surprised. "Oh, no one. But it's part of the Andalite stories. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, we know all about the Yeerks," I said darkly.

"Of course, they're just stories. You're both too smart to buy into all that, aren't you?"

"Way too smart to fall for it," Marco agreed.

Tom nodded. "Good. Well, I'm going out with some friends tonight, so you'll have the whole place to yourself, Jake. Mom and Dad will be out late with some diplomat from…I forget where. Have a party. Well, I'm off. I'm starving."

When Tom was gone, Marco turned to me. "Wasn't he out late a couple days ago?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Does he do this every, say, three days."

"Get out, Marco."

**Rachel**

When I got home, I learned, much to my relief, that Chapman hadn't told my mother about what happened at the Gardens. Not yet, at any rate. I really didn't want to deal with that on top of everything else. It was a long day.

Of course, my day was about to get longer. Why? Jordan, of course. Princess Jordan, my younger sister. I know we're both princesses, and I guess I'm a little spoiled, but Jordan really acts the part. I don't know how many princesses have considered killing their sisters (actually, probably a lot) but I certainly have.

Jordan immediately confronted me when I got home. She stood in the doorway, staring at me. "What?" I demanded.

"There was a boy here earlier, looking for you."

"What? Who?" I had only left Tobias five minutes ago. He wanted to go back to the forest; he didn't say why. Maybe he just felt more at home there.

"Is name was David. He was kind of cute."

"Oh. I forgot about him."

"Too many men in your life, huh?"

"Watch it, Jordan."

"Maybe you need to start keeping a list. Let's see, there's David, Marco, Bradley, T.T…."

"They don't count. I can't help it if they come looking for me. I've never said more than two words to any of them. Well, except for Marco, but that's just because I've known him for far too long."

"And just how well _do_ you know Marco?" Jordan asked, winking.

"Thin ice, Jordan. You're on it."

"I wonder what mom would do if she knew about all of these guys."

"Four. Four guys, Jordan. Four guys and nothing ever happened with any of them."

"You don't really expect me to believe that. Come on, you're telling me you never did anything with any of the guys who are chasing after you?"

"That's right."

Jordan snorted. I shoved her out of my way and went to my room. I thought I would get a nice little break. But, of course, I was wrong.

After about ten minutes, Jordan called again. "Rachel, David's here."

What could he possibly want? Well, aside from the obvious, I mean. Jordan showed him inside. "What do you want?" I asked. I don't know why I was being kind of rude to him. It wasn't like he had actually done anything. Well, there was the eagle incident, but that wasn't really his fault.

"I saw you at the practice yards earlier and thought you had decided to take me up on my offer."

What? Oh, right. He had been there getting thrashed by Tom. I hadn't been there to see him, but I guess he didn't know that. "I'm really not interested," I told him.

"Give me a shot, at least. How else could you know if you never even try? Come on, I've got a lot of great stories from my time as a mercenary."

"I don't think so."

"Give me one good reason, Rachel."

There had to be one good reason. Something other than the fact that something about David was…off. There was just something about him that was kind of wrong. I didn't like him because of it, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

So I went with a lie. "I have plans with someone else. You met Tobias, right?"

"I don't think so, no."

"He was the one with the hawks."

"Oh, him." I didn't miss David's sneer. "You don't need to keep a promise to him."

And now I knew what it was about David that I didn't like. He was a jerk. "Look, David, I'm not interested, okay? It would be best if you never came back here. It could end up fatal."

His eyes hardened. "Are you threatening me?" he hissed in a voice so cold I hadn't realized he possessed it. "That is [i]not[i] a good idea, Rachel."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, trying to sound as cold. I don't think it worked.

He smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. Actually, it kind of reminded me of Visser Three. "Everyone has a price, Rachel. Anything can be bought. And once I find out yours, you won't have a choice."

"What kind of threat is that?" I demanded. What was he talking about?

Then he laughed. "I'll see you soon, Rachel," he said as he turned to leave. "I'll see you soon."

I didn't sleep well that night. If it was from the acquiring or all the talk about Yeerks or David I don't know. I was up half the night, tossing and turning. When it was time for school in the morning, it was almost a relief. Anything to relieve the boredom of lying awake all night.

Yes, school. See, as nobles, we got an education that the peasants didn't get. Everyone in the castle went to the west wing for classes. Lord Chapman oversaw all of them and had complete authority over everyone there, even the royal family.

I was 'woken up' by my other sister, a hyperactive little girl named Sara. "Time for school!" she squealed. It was her first day. It was usual for young kids to start school a few days after the storyteller came. Don't ask me why. We older kids had to go year-round. Chapman must be pure evil.

Oh, right, he was. Or, rather, the Yeerk in his head was. That explained a lot.

I walked with Sara to the west wing. I don't know where Jordan was; if she wanted to skip school, that was fine with me. I could use it against her later.

I took Sara to her classroom and got a surprise. Sitting in a desk made for a small child, was Tobias. I couldn't help but laugh. He gave me a totally pathetic look. I think he was wishing they hadn't taken his sword from him.

"What are you doing here?" I finally managed to ask.

"Well, I had to see Chapman earlier about where I should be. That was when we discovered something."

"What?"

"To be in school, you have to know how to read and write."

"Wait, you mean…you can't read?"

He shrugged. "It never came up."

"But," I whispered, "didn't the Andalites teach you?"

"They had more important things on their minds. Reading and writing aren't useful if you've got three feet of steel through your gut."

"That makes sense, I guess. But they had to start you all the way at the beginning? I mean, this is my little sister's first day at school." I nodded at Sara.

"I don't know any of this stuff." He pointed at the slate on the wall. The numbers 1 through 10 were written on it. "That might as well be…I can't even think of anything that arcane."

"Magic words?" I suggested.

"No, those I've had some experience with. Honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing here. I might as well just go. I got by fine without any of this before."

He started to go. I grabbed him by the shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Where I belong. My hawk needs to be fed anyway. I don't think she managed to find breakfast this morning. Prey isn't very common here in the castle, after all."

"You aren't going anywhere except back to your tiny desk."

"Why?"

"Because I said so. I'm the princess; you have to obey me," I insisted.

"Or what? You'll put my head on a pike?"

"No. I'll tell Marco about this and you'll [i]wish[i] I had killed you."

He debated that for a minute. He had been Marco's roommate last night; he already knew what Marco could be like. Finally, he nodded. "Okay. Fine. Just make sure he doesn't know about this."

"Good. And if you leave, I'll know. Sara," I called. She looked up.

"What?"

I pointed to Tobias. "Make sure he doesn't leave. If he does, tell me when we get home. Got it?"

"Okay."

Satisfied with my work, I went off to class.


	4. The Fourth Bit

Oh...wow...I forgot I was telling this story here on FFN, too. Sorry about that readers! Here's more Archaic for ya!

* * *

**Cassie**

Rachel showed up late, which was a little surprising. She's never late. "What happened?" I asked. She looked like she hadn't slept all night; not that she didn't still look a thousand times better than I ever would.

"Nothing. I had to take Sara to her first class."

"Alright. Where's Tobias? Wasn't he supposed to be here, too?"

She went a little pale. "He's…he's somewhere. Don't worry about him."

"Late night?" I heard a voice say from behind me. Rachel rolled her eyes. A tall, blond guy took a seat next to her. "Couldn't stop thinking about me, could you?" He kind of reminded me of Marco.

"David, did I mention go away? What are you even doing here?"

"Relax. I'm just here because my father wanted me out of the way. They're working today and didn't want me to come along. No need for my help; they're just scouting the woods."

"So basically, you're useless so you decided to come annoy me."

"Hey," I heard Marco cry, "that's my job." He looked from Rachel to David. "Wow, Rachel, you're really getting around these days. First Tobias, now this guy. When do I fall in the rotation?"

"Somewhere below Chapman. And Jake. And probably Cassie, too."

Marco looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, I can live with that. Just have to get Chapman out of the picture and call your bluff over Jake and Cassie. I can handle that. Oh, right, I have to deal with Tobias, too. Where is bird-boy anyway? He disappeared early this morning and I haven't seen him since. Shouldn't he be around here somewhere?"

"He is. Somewhere," Rachel said. I wondered where Tobias was. I was sure Rachel knew, and I was sure she wasn't going to tell me.

David eyed Marco. "And you would be…?"

"About a foot taller if I had my way. The name's Marco."

"But everyone calls him doofus," Rachel added helpfully. "He was just leaving. Maybe you should go with him."

"Ignore her," Marco instructed David. "She's all talk. If she was really as bad as she tries to make herself out to be…well, I'd be dead by now, with all the times she's threatened to switch my important organs around."

"We talking about Rachel?" Jake asked as he took a seat next to me. "I can't think of anyone else who would be swapping Marco's organs."

"You know the organ she wants," Marco leered. Then, "Ow! That was my shin."

"Aimed too low. Maybe if you were taller…"

Marco decided to stay quiet after that. We sat there in silence for a few moments before Jake decided to take the initiative. "Hi," he said to David, "I'm Jake. I think I saw you the other day."

"Yeah," Marco added. "Weren't you the one getting beat around by Tom?

"I let him win," David said quickly.

"Riiiight…"

"It's true," David insisted. "It wouldn't be good business to show up and beat the heir to the throne. That's how enemies are made."

"Well, I bet you're the expert on that," Rachel hissed. I looked at her. Why was she being so hostile? David didn't seem so bad.

We didn't speak after that. Partially, it was because Lord Chapman (who taught our classes personally because we had two members of the royal family with us) began class. It was also in part because we were afraid Rachel might snap.

We sat through our various lessons for the next few hours. Lunch was, as always, a welcomed relief. Not only did it relieve the boredom of class, we were all hungry, too. As usual, I brought my own lunch, since I didn't like eating meat.

Jake, Marco, Rachel, and David met me a few minutes later. Marco looked at my lunch. "You know, Cassie, they kill the chicken whether you eat it or now. You aren't helping the chicken. Parts of that poor innocent chicken are going to waste because of you."

I sighed. "Marco, are we going to have this argument every day?"

Marco paused and looked at the ceiling. Then, he looked back at me. "Yes. Yes we are."

"You know, Marco," Rachel started to say. Then, she looked at something behind Marco. "Oh, hey Tobias."

He nodded and sat down to eat. _That_ was an experience. I've never seen anyone eat so fast. His fork was just a blur as he moved food from his plate to his mouth. He kept darting his head around nervously, like he was looking for someone coming along to steal his meal. It wasn't that he was a messy eater. Not a single crumb escaped him. He was ruthlessly efficient.

That wasn't the end of it, though. After he had consumed half of this food, he started wrapping the other half in napkins and stuffing it in his pockets. Marco rolled his eyes. "I was hoping you wouldn't do this in public."

"Do what?" Tobias asked.

"This!" Marco responded, gesturing to the chicken Tobias was shoving in his pocket. "That thing where you eat really fast and then store the rest for later. Has it occurred to you that other people don't eat like that?"

Marco turned to Jake. "He did this last night during dinner, too. At the time, it was funny. But now that we're in public…"

Tobias shrugged. "This is how I learned to eat. Back where I come from, you never know how long your food's going to stay there. You eat what you can when you can. And when you can't eat more, you save everything you can get your hands on. That's the difference between life and starvation."

We all just looked at him. Gently, I said, "Tobias, you don't need to live like that anymore. I've never heard of anyone in the palace starving."

"Sorry. It's a habit," he answered.

Jake just shrugged. "I guess we can't judge you; we've never lived like you. Where have you been, anyway? We were curious."

Tobias and Rachel looked at each other and then looked away. What was going on here? "I've been around," Tobias answered. "Here and there."

"Well, I have yet to see the here part," Marco replied. "Where is there?"

"Around," Tobias repeated.

He and Marco looked at each other for a moment. Marco was unwilling to give up and Tobias wouldn't give in. I stepped in. "Marco, I'm sure Tobias will tell you later. It's probably just not a good story."

He nodded. "Nothing worth telling. If you really want to know, ask me later. Right now, tell me what I missed."

Marco took that as an opportunity to launch into the stories of the various wise cracks and witticisms he had made in Tobias's absence. It seemed that Marco had more or less gotten over hating Tobias. Instead, he seemed to have a problem with David. He was quiet about it, which made me think that Marco _really_ didn't like David. Normally, Marco is more than happy to let you know what he thinks. When he's quiet or cold to you, that's when he's really not on your side.

Tobias finished eating long before the rest of us and made his way off to…wherever it was he was going. Marco turned to Rachel. "So where's he going?"

"What makes you think I'd know?"

"Look, Rachel, I know that you know. Now are you going to tell me?"

"No."

"How did I know you were going to say that?"

"I don't know."

"No way."

"I know, right?"

"No, but-"

David slammed a fist on the table and glared at them. "Would you stop saying NO!?"

Marco and Rachel met each other's eyes. Then, as one, they turned to David and said, "No."

David slammed the table again. He shoved his chair back and stormed off down the hallway. "What's up with him?" Marco asked.

Jake shrugged. "Lack of sleep? Or maybe he's still angry because we called him out earlier when he said he let Tom win."

"I think he's just a jerk," Rachel said calmly. "He got pretty psychotic when I refused to go out with him last night."

Marco winced. "You shot him down, Rachel? No wonder he's in such a bad mood. Don't worry, we won't let psycho David near you. That's why I'm here: to protect you from dangerous guys."

Jake nudged Marco. "What about Tobias?"

Rachel started to blush. That didn't happen very often. "It isn't like that. He's just a friend. Like Marco. Except I don't want to replace Tobias' lungs with his kidneys."

"Besides, we can't keep them apart," Marco said. Then, he lowered his voice. "We have to fight these Yeerks together, right? That reminds me. Jake and I think we should check out the Sharing. We suspect Yeerk involvement."

Jake glared at Marco. "_You_ suspect Yeerk involvement. I'm just going so Tom doesn't tell my parents we skipped class yesterday."

Rachel nodded. "Tobias and I were going to check it out. He was thinking the same thing."

"When were you planning on telling us this?" Jake asked. "I'd have liked to know if you were going into a potentially dangerous situation."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "It's nothing dangerous. A little spy work at most. Besides, Tobias and I can handle ourselves."

"Rachel, I just don't think it's such a good idea for you to spend too much time alone with Tobias. I don't think he can be fully trusted."

"What, you're with Marco now? We're on the same side, Jake. He is not the enemy."

Jake sighed. "I wasn't talking about the Yeerks and the Andalites, Rachel. I'm worried about much more…mundane things."

Rachel was speechless. So she just decided to slap Jake. Then I guess she found her speech because she said, "That is just unbelievable, you know that? I can't even…coming from _you_] of all people…you're worse than Marco!" Rachel stormed off not dissimilarly from David.

I looked at Jake. "_Someone _ should go talk to her," I said pointedly. Marco slowly shrank under the table.

Jake shook his head. "_You're_ her best friend."

"But _you_ made her angry."

"Which is exactly why I am not going anywhere near her until I absolutely have to."

"You _are_ as bad as Marco," I sighed, getting up to go after Rachel.

From under the table, I heard someone say, "Marco takes offense to that. He's much funnier than Jake."

I took off down the hallway. I didn't know where Rachel was going, but I suspected it would be the same place Tobias was disappearing to all day. Maybe Jake was right to worry. I thought I could trust Tobias, but I've been wrong before. Sometimes, it's the gentle animals that bite the hardest.

I forgot about my musings when I saw Tobias. He was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall. His face was a mess. It was beginning to bruise. Blood was trailing from his mouth. His breathing came in ragged gasps. He heard my approaching footsteps and looked up at me.

It was hard to say what was in his eyes. They were pleading, but they weren't asking me for help. No, they were demanding that I _not_ help. That I not pity him. I knealt down next to him. "Tobias, what happened?"

He struggled to his feet. I tried to help him up but he shrugged me off. "Nothing to worry about," he rasped, inhaling deeply.

"Don't lie to me. I can see that something happened." I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Was it the Yeerks?"

He shook his head. "No, just…some guys. Three of them." He tried to give me a little smile. "I guess there was just something about me they didn't like."

"How did this happen? I thought you knew how to fight. I saw you against Tom."

"A sword and a fist are two very different things, Cassie. I wasn't taught to fight. I was taught to kill. If I had fought back, I'd have probably killed someone. That isn't something I do unless I really think my own life is on the line. This," he gestured to his battered face, "wasn't worth killing over."

He turned and started walking down the hallway. "Where are you going?" I demanded.

"Back to class. If I'm late, Rachel'll have my head."

**Tobias**

I considered morphing away my injuries but in the end I decided against it. Tom already suspected that I wasn't exactly normal and I didn't want him to have any evidence.

I got back to class a little late, but no one seemed to care once they saw my face. Sara looked up at me. "What happened, Toby?"

"Tobias," I sighed, knowing that she probably would never call me that. "Nothing to worry about. It's not as bad as it looks." She didn't exactly believe me, but she decided to let the matter drop. Smart kid.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Well, as uneventfully as any day can go when you're locked in a room with a bunch of little kids and a teacher who is seriously contemplating suicide. I can't say I'd have blamed her.

At the end of the day, Rachel came to walk Sara home from school. I was grateful for this because Sara had taken her orders to watch me a little too closely for my liking. She kind of reminded me of when my hawk was watching a mouse.

When Rachel saw me, she immediately got worried. "What happened? Was it David?"

"David? What? No; I haven't seen him since lunch. Just some guys who didn't quite like me."

"If this is what you look like, I hate to imagine how they must look. Actually, on second thought, I love the thought of it."

I didn't bother to tell her I never threw a punch. If she was happier to think this way, that was fine with me.

"Hey," she said, trying to sound casual. "You know how we planned on going to the Sharing?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, Jake, Cassie, and Marco were thinking of coming too."

I nodded. So she had told them about our plan. I hadn't expected her to, but it was fine. "I figured you could just hang out at my place until we go. It's in a few hours. You and Sara can tell me about your first day of school."

I shrugged. "I don't have anything better to do. My hawk can look after herself for one day."

The walk to Rachel's home wasn't far, since it was still in the palace. The royal family and their staff lived in the north wing, so it wasn't like we were going to the opposite side of the palace.

When we got there, there was already another girl there. I think she was Rachel's sister. She looked from me to Rachel. "Really, Rachel? First David, now him? You need to slow down or I'll be an aunt by the end of the year."

To me, Rachel said, "Ignore Jordan. I don't know who let her out of her cage. I'm going to do some math homework Chapman gave us. Do you and Sara have any homework?"

Sara nodded. "We have to write our names five times."

"Oh, for the days when that was all I had to do," Rachel sighed. "Well, better get to it. I'm sure you two can handle it. I mean, you can work a sword, Tobias. A pen can't be hard."

"The pen is mightier than the sword. And considerably easier to write with," I agreed.

"Wait," Jordan said, "is this guy in the same class with Sara?"

Rachel gave her a look, daring her to laugh. "Yeah, that's right. So what?'

Jordan decided it wasn't safe to respond, so she answered, "Nothing. Just wondering."

"Peasants can't read and write," I told Jordan. "We don't have the luck you nobles do. We don't know how to do a bunch of useless junk. We just know what we need to know to survive. Do you know what the difference between you nobles and us peasants is?"

"Education?" Jordan guessed.

"No. That's just a symptom of the disease. No, the difference is that we, at the very least, deserve what we have. We are worthy of our lives and better."

"And we aren't?"

"Why did you sleep in a palace last week while I slept in the woods? It's not because you deserve better than I do," I answered.

"Hey, watch it," Rachel snapped. "That's my sister. Do you think you're better than us because you've had it harder? Because you've been unlucky?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you meant it."

I was silent.

Of course, Rachel wasn't finished. "Do you think we don't deserve what we have? Do you think Jake doesn't deserve his life? Or me? Do you think we're unworthy of our lives just because we're nobles? That's as ignorant as if I thought you were stupid because you were a peasant."

"I didn't say you didn't deserve it and that isn't what I meant. I meant… You don't know what life is like out there. Not real life. You wake up in the morning and know that you'll have food that day. You know you'll have a place to sleep at night. You know you can go home without getting smacked around by a drunk two times your size. You can't understand it. Be glad you don't understand it. But understand this: knowing the alphabet doesn't mean anything if you're dead. So don't look at me like that even if you aren't going to say what I know you're thinking."

Rachel, Jordan, and I glared at each other in silence for a few moments. Slowly, Jordan said, "I think you had better go."

Rachel shook her head. "No. That's what he wants. He wants to go back to the woods and forget any of this ever happened. Forget that he's seen that life could be good. That's what he wants. He's afraid to admit that his life could be better. He's a coward."

"Don't you _ever_ call me a coward," I hissed. It was strange, surreal. When I first met Rachel, I never thought I could be angry with her. Now I was furious. "Don't you dare call me a coward."

"What are you going to do about it?" she dared.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Sara shouted, "Stop fighting! You're like mommy and daddy."

We all looked at her. Then I realized what she meant. Rachel's parents were divorced. It would be best for me to leave, but then Rachel would think she was right. And we had to go to the Sharing later. Instead, I sat down and said, "Let's just do our homework."

"I think that would be best," Rachel agreed. Wordlessly, we went about our work. I tried writing my name. No matter how hard I tried, though, it never looked right. The 'T' was crooked and wavy. The 'o' looked almost like a square. The letter 'b' was mostly legible; it looked kind of like a square dangling from a string. I had a lot of trouble with the 'i'; it didn't make sense anyway. Why was that little dot there? The 'a' mostly looked like a sideways 'b'. I completely gave up on the 's'; I couldn't handle the curves.

I stared at my paper, more frustrated than you can possibly imagine. I was a reasonably intelligent human being. I had all the necessary fingers. I had been trained by Andalites as an efficient warrior. I could morph into any animal I could touch. And I couldn't write my own name nearly as well as Sara.

"This is impossible," I muttered.

"I guarantee it is not," Rachel said absently.

"I can't do it," I repeated. "I take back what I said earlier. The sword would be a lot easier to write with."

Rachel stood over my shoulder. "Do it again. I want to see what you're doing wrong."

I sighed and tried my best to write my name. But I couldn't get the pen to move the way I wanted it to. It was like my hand didn't understand what my brain was telling it to do. "Why is this so hard?" I demanded.

"It isn't," Rachel insisted. "Here, look." She grabbed my hand and jerked it across the page in the shape of the letter T. Then, she wrote o-b-i-a-s. "See? not hard."

"Isn't that sweet," Jordan said, looking at our hands.

Rachel jerked away. "Not as sweet as would be my shoving your own head down your throat."

"My own head? As opposed to whose?" Jordan asked. "And I don't think you're the one who should be talking about shoving things down her throat."

Rachel looked ready to hit Jordan, so I intervened. "You know, Rachel, it's kind of a long walk to the lake. If we want to get to the Sharing early, we should probably leave now. I'm sure Marco and Jake will already be there."

Rachel nodded. "Fine. Let's go."

As we were leaving, Jordan decided to have just a little more fun. She called out "Have fun on your date!" and then slammed the door before Rachel could break her nose.

"Is that what a family is like?" I asked.

"Pretty much."

"Glad I'm an orphan, then." I guess Rachel didn't find that funny. "Come with me to the barn," I told her, trying to change the subject. "I know a better way to get to the lake."

**Marco**

Jake, Cassie, and I arrived about half an hour before everything stated. Jake and I left with Tom, who had to get there early to make sure everything was set up properly. Cassie had rode one of the horses; and she called _me_ lazy.

"Any sign of Rachel and Tobias?" Jake asked.

I shrugged. "He's probably nail—"

"I'm sure they'll be here," Cassie cut me off while Jake glared. "Rachel's reliable and I think Tobias is, too."

"Did you ever find out where he was all day?" I asked her.

"No. Why? Wasn't he with you guys? Wasn't he back at your place, Marco?"

"No, he wasn't. I have no idea where he's been. Probably off with Rachel. I'm telling you, Jake, you need to keep an eye on those two. Maybe Tobias isn't going to turn against us, but there _are_ other dangers than Yeerks."

"You try telling Rachel that."

"No thanks. I like my head on my shoulders."

"Tell Rachel what?" Rachel asked as she and Tobias emerged from the woods wearing very little.

I gave Jake a look. "What did I tell you?"

Jake looked dumbstruck. "What is going on here?" he asked softly and slowly. I wasn't fooled. It's the soft, slow voice he uses when he's getting angry.

"It's not what it looks like," Tobias said lamely.

"It never is," I sighed.

Rachel glared at me. "We flew here. Turns out, when you morph, you can't morph a lot of clothing. But we figured this was good enough for a party at the lake. I don't know what we'll do in the winter, though."

"That won't be a problem," I said, "because we won't be morphing. Right Jake?"

"Marco, we already agreed to do this."

"But not in the winter! We'll freeze to death."

"It's not so bad," Tobias said. "The Andalites trained me to ignore cold and heat. I can teach you, but it'll probably take several months. And if that fails, the Andalites have special cloths that you can morph. They're kind of the unofficial uniform of the Andalite people."

"Uniforms. Now _that's_ what we need," I said. "Can you imagine if we got uniforms?"

"Wouldn't that be just a bit conspicuous?" Cassie asked. "I think the Yeerks might notice a bunch of kids running around dressed as Andalites."

I shrugged but didn't argue. "So what are we going to do, fearless leader?" I asked Jake.

"Whoa, who said I'm the leader?"

"Uh…the law," I answered. "You're the Prince. That makes you the leader."

"Tobias is the one who the Andalites trained to do this," Jake argued. "He knows the most about what's going on."

"Maybe but, and don't take this the wrong way, Tobias, I don't trust him."

"I'll try not to be offended," Tobias muttered.

"I mean," I said to Jake, "I trust you with my life. Which is what I have to do with a leader. Tobias…we met him yesterday. With the exception of Rachel, none of us have spent more than three hours with him in our entire lives. I can't put my life in the hands of a stranger. What do you think, Cassie?"

"I think…Tobias seems like a good guy, but I know Jake more. I know how much we all mean to him. I'd rather follow Jake."

"Rachel?" I asked. This would be the hardest part, I thought. Tobias would probably agree to follow Jake. But Jake wouldn't lead us unless everyone agreed to it, Rachel included.

"Honestly, I'd follow either of them. I do trust Tobias, whether you do or not, Marco. And I trust Jake. I've known him all m life; how could I not trust him? I'll follow either of them."

I looked at Tobias. If he wanted to be the leader, there would be a power struggle. It wouldn't be easy to convince either Tobias or Jake to give in.

Tobias looked back at me calmly. "I don't know if Jake would be better to lead this fight than I would or not. But Marco and Cassie will follow you, Jake, and not me. That's an important difference. I can't lead them and you can. So I'll follow you."

"Unanimous," I said to Jake. "We follow you, Big Jake. What are our orders?"

"I guess…spread out. We'll try to see if we can hear anything interesting. Act like you're just here to have a good time. Maybe something will come up."

"You call that a plan?" Rachel asked.

Jake shrugged. "It's all I can come up with on such short notice. You and Tobias were planning on coming here. Did _you_ have a plan?"

"_I'm_ not the leader," Tobias said. I think it was supposed to be funny.

We broke apart after that. Jake, Tobias, and I hung out around the beach. Cassie and Rachel went off in a different direction.

At one point, Jake went off to find Tom, leaving me with Tobias. We were sitting in chairs by the lake and I decided to make conversation. "So," I asked, trying to sound casual, "what's the deal with you and Rachel?"

He shrugged. "There is no deal."

"Don't give me that line. _Something_ is going on between you two. You don't have to be Cassie to see that. Even I picked up on it."

"Nothing is going on," he repeated.

"Dude, I don't know why you'd deny it. It's something to be proud of. I mean…It's _Rachel_. Do you know how many guys dream of having her?"

"Probably all of them," he answered calmly.

"And what, you're not one of them?"

"I didn't say that. What is it with people putting words in my mouth today? All I said was that nothing was happening."

"Tobias, I know something's up. The two of you are always together. She's the only one who knows where you are half the time. Why not just admit that something's up?'

"Oh, something's up, alright. But I don't know what it is. Let me ask you something, Marco. Knowing Rachel, do you _really_ think she has a thing for a guy like me? I don't. She's up to something. I don't know what she's planning but I intend to find out."

I was surprised. I didn't think he was that suspicious. I said, "Look, I think she really _might_ like you. I mean, she's never liked any of the nobles who have come after her. She's never really met a peasant. You're different from the usual guy she meets. Maybe that has something to do with it."

Before he could say anything about that, Jake came back to us. "Hey, guys."

"What happened to Tom?" I asked.

"Some of the full members went off to a separate meeting. Tom's with them."

Tobias and I shared a look. "I think we need to check that meeting out," he said.

I nodded. "Sounds suspicious. Might be Yeerk related. How do you think we should spy it out?"

"I can morph to hawk," Tobias suggested. "They have excellent sight and hearing. If I land in a tree near where they're meeting, I can hear everything they say. I can find Rachel and Cassie while I'm at it."

Jake nodded. "Okay. Yeah, you do that. I'll morph Homer, I think."

I raised an eyebrow. "When did you acquire your dog?" I asked.

"Earlier today. I was petting him and thought, 'Well, why not?' So I acquired him."

"Okay. You two go over in those trees over there and morph. I'll keep watch and collect your clothing," I suggested.

The two of them disappeared into the trees. I heard some weird squishing and crunching noises. Then, a hawk flew out of the trees. ((I'm on my way,)) I heard Tobias's voice say in my head.

A moment later, a golden retriever appeared. ((Hey Marco, pal! I am so glad to see you. You have no idea how happy I am to be here. I could not be happier that you're here with me. Oh man, I love the beach and the lake. Hey, could you throw that stick into the water. I could go and get it and bring it back to you. Wouldn't that be so awesome?))

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked.

((I am feeling better than ever. So, how about that stick? It's okay if you don't want to. You could just scratch me behind my ears. Oh man, I would love that.))

((Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention,)) Tobias said. ((When you morph an animal, you get its instincts, too. I guess dogs are…well, like that. Oh man!))

((What?)) Jake asked, seeming to regain some measure of control over himself.

((_He's_ here.))

((Who? Tom? Chapman?))

((No. _Him_.))

"Who?" I asked again.

((Visser Three. And I think… Oh man!))

"_What_!" I demanded.

((And he isn't the only Andalite I see.))


End file.
